Rules for the Non-Military

This is a discussion on Rules for the Non-Military within the Off Topic & Humor Discussion forums, part of the The Back Porch category; And yes, USCG used to be DoT. Now, they are Dept of Homeland Security....still not Defense, though they probably should be....

A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands - love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper - his hands remember the rifle.

That makes me want to ask if you were in the Military? (If not, refer to rule #4 above) The quote below is the oath I took, the highlighting is mine.

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

No, I was not in the military. But in your oath, please note that your duty to protect and defend the Constitution comes BEFORE your duty to obey the orders of the President.

The reason that the founders expressly stated that standing armies should not exist is the worry that the President could order the military to carry out unconstitutional orders...now the only check is the military themselves.

"Trust in God with hand on sword" -Inscription on my family's coat of arms from medieval England
---Carry options: G26/MTAC, PF9/MiniTuck, PPK/Pocket, USP40/OWB---
---NOTE: I am not an expert. If I ever start acting like a know-it-all, please call me on it immediately. ---

> 12. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member
> of the military, support our troops and their families.
> Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with
> family and friends, please remember that there are literally
> thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from
> home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God
> for our military and the sacrifices they make every day.
> Without them, our country would get it's 'ass
> kicked.'

When you are talkin about dolphins and such, it is a marine life, when talkin about a rough and tumble guy with his boots in the mud, its always Marine, with the "M", capitalized.

No, I was not in the military. But in your oath, please note that your duty to protect and defend the Constitution comes BEFORE your duty to obey the orders of the President.

The reason that the founders expressly stated that standing armies should not exist is the worry that the President could order the military to carry out unconstitutional orders...now the only check is the military themselves.

I'm sorry, I took an oath..... NOT PART OF AN OATH! And no where did it or the UCMJ inform me that it was to be obeyed in order written, or I had an option of ignoring the President. Granted there is a clause to disobey a direct order I feel is illegal, but the President doesn't give me direct orders, and I damn well better be right if I do!

When youenlist, and take the oath, you may do what ever you feel is correct at your peril. Most of us that served did our duty and fulfilled the oath we took to the best of our abilities.

"Trust in God with hand on sword" -Inscription on my family's coat of arms from medieval England
---Carry options: G26/MTAC, PF9/MiniTuck, PPK/Pocket, USP40/OWB---
---NOTE: I am not an expert. If I ever start acting like a know-it-all, please call me on it immediately. ---

No, I was not in the military. But in your oath, please note that your duty to protect and defend the Constitution

That is support and defend the Constitution...

The check on the military (thus the executive branch) is the legislative branch and the power of the purse. Not just the military itself. Quite frankly, knowing the officers and NCOs I do, I don't see anyone carrying out illegal orders.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is
due to our U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make
people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.